1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to a new and improved roof panel construction and a method of making it. The invention more particularly relates to such a roof panel construction, which prevents or greatly inhibits the avalanche of snow and ice therefrom to prevent dangerous conditions when slabs of snow and ice slide off of the roof. Such roof panel construction may be composed of metal, glass, plastic or other suitable materials.
2. Background Art
Snow and ice can accumulate on pitched roofs during winter months. When the snow and ice commences thawing due to weather conditions or the heat within the building itself, melting slabs of snow and ice can lubricate the roof panel and then slide under the force of gravity off of the roof in the form of a heavy block or sheet. Such a condition can damage the roof edges, adjacent property, and can be very dangerous, especially to a passerby near the roof.
In an attempt to overcome this potentially dangerous problem, snow guards have been employed on roofs where such conditions could arise. The snow guards are typically small upright plates which have a base secured to the roof by suitable attachment means, such as an adhesive. The snow guard holds back a block of snow and ice to prevent it from being dislodged from the roof. However, the weight of the snow and ice accumulation can be considerable, and depending upon the pitch of the roof, the adhesive or other fastening device can fracture or otherwise fail, and the snow guard then breaks off and is discharged with the block of accumulated snow and ice behind it. Thus, such devices are not entirely satisfactory for many applications. Also, they are costly to install.
In order to overcome this problem, a roof panel having integral snow and ice gripping projections formed therein has proven to be highly effective, and is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,205,088. Such a roof panel construction employs integral upward or top side projections which are structurally strong to help retain the heavy accumulations of snow and ice to prevent or inhibit them from sliding off of the roof.
While such a construction has proven to be highly successful, it may sometimes be advantageous to enable such a construction to facilitate the complete drainage of melted snow and ice from the roof to avoid standing pools of melted snow and ice. Such standing pools can produce staining of the roof and is thus not desirable. Therefore, it would be highly desirable to have such a new and improved integral snow and ice retention devices, which also facilitate the drainage of melted snow and ice therefrom.